This invention relates to apparatus for performing machining functions, and more specifically to a boring and tapping machine that is particularly suited for employment in areas wherein a hostile environment prevails for purposes of accomplishing in the latter boring and tapping operations such as are required in the boring and tapping of stud holes.
One of the primary factors to which consideration normally is most often given before commencing the construction of a new manufacturing facility and/or the refurbishing of an old one is the nature of the product which will be manufactured therein. Further, the fact that particular types of facilities are better suited for the manufacture of certain kinds of products than are others is well accepted. Also, it has long been known that the configuration of the exterior and interior of a manufacturing facility as well as the manner in which the production equipment is arranged within the facility are predicated, in large measure if not entirely, upon the nature of the steps which are required to be performed in order to effect the successful manufacture of the given product in the particular facility.
Accordingly, it is thus not surprising that most products are manufactured at one location and are used at another. Moreover, the probability is such, at least in the case of most products, that if a product needs to be repaired at some point in its life, the product will not be returned to the place of its original manufacture for purposes of accomplishing the repair required thereof. Rather, the more likely probability is that the product in need of repair will either be returned to some form of service center located in relatively close proximity to the place whereat the product is being employed in order to effect the necessary repair thereof, or else the product will be repaired on site, i.e., at the actual location whereat the product is being employed.
From the preceding discussion it should be readily apparent that if the practice described above is followed, it will have a definite impact upon the nature of the production equipment, i.e., manufacturing apparatus, which is selected to be employed for purposes of accomplishing the manufacture and/or repair of the products in question. In addition, the aforedescribed practice will also impact upon where this manufacturing apparatus will be located. For example, in instances wherein the focus primarily is simply upon the original manufacture of the products, decisions regarding the nature of the apparatus which will be employed for this purpose normally will be based on a consideration of factors of a technical nature. That is, the decision as to the kind of apparatus which will be utilized will be influenced greatly by the considerations that are given to those factors which relate to the specific manufacturing operations, e.g., casting, grinding, drilling, etc., that will be required in order to originally produce the product. On the other hand, because this apparatus will be positioned at the site whereat the original manufacture of the product occurs, the installation of the apparatus thereat will be done with the view that this is intended to be a permanent installation. Accordingly, matters such as the size, weight, etc. of the apparatus that is selected for use will merit only secondary consideration.
Continuing, in other instances the focus is approximately equally distributed between the original manufacture of the products and the subsequent need to effect servicing and repair thereof. When deciding in such instances upon the nature of the manufacturing apparatus which will be selected for use in connection with the products in question, consideration must be given to both the requirements that need to be satisfied in connection with the original manufacture of the products as well as those which are associated with the servicing and/or repairing of the products. More specifically, factors relating to the manufacturing operations that are required to be performed in order to accomplish the manufacture of the product will have to be considered. Likewise, factors relating to the service and/or repair operations which it is anticipated will have to be performed in connection with the products will also have to be considered. As a result, the manufacturing apparatus which is selected for use in these instances may need to be different from that wherein the only consideration is the original manufacture of the products.
Thirdly, instances are known to exist wherein the primary focus is simply on the matter of effecting servicing and/or repair of the products as such functions become necessary. Obviously, in order to select apparatus that would be suitable for use in such circumstances consideration must of necessity be given to the nature of the operations that it is expected will have to be performed in connection with such servicing and/or repairing. Furthermore, consideration must be given as to where such servicing and/or repairing will most commonly take place, i.e., at some site remote from the location whereat use is normally made of the product, or at the same site as that at which the product is employed.
Regarding in particular those instances wherein there is a need to select apparatus which is suitable for use for purposes of effecting the repair of products at the situs thereof, the factors that may most influence this decision may turn out to be of a nontechnical nature, i.e., not related to the specific manufacturing operations that are required to be performed in order to effect the repairs. For example, the question of accessibility as it relates to the product itself as well as to the actual portion of the product which needs to be repaired may prove to be an important consideration. Likewise, the environment which exists at the site whereat the product is located may be an important consideration. In this connection, reference is had here to the existence thereat of conditions which might adversely affect personnel and/or the apparatus with which the repair is to be effected. Such conditions might take the form, for instance, of high temperatures, pollutants in the air, nuclear radiation, etc. On the other hand, this is not to indicate that no consideration needs to be given to the nature of the manufacturing operations which will have to be performed in order to successfully accomplish the repair of the product. Moreover, the factors mentioned above are not to be taken to be all-inclusive, but rather have been listed simply by way of exemplification.
One example of a situation wherein repairs and/or servicing are required to be performed at the product sites is that of nuclear power generation systems. Not only is the performance of repairs and/or servicing required in this instance to be carried out at the site of the nuclear power generation system, but the performance thereof is further complicated by the environmental conditions that exist thereat and under which the repairs must be effected. Namely, the matter of exposure to nuclear radiation in terms of the products that must be repaired and/or serviced, the personnel that are to accomplish the repair and/or servicing, and the apparatus that will be utilized for purposes of effecting the repair and/or servicing must be given consideration. In addition, one must be concerned with the physical accessibility of the nuclear product that is in need of repair and/or servicing. As a consequence, it is found that in many instances the apparatus that are available for use to effect the repair and/or servicing of nonnuclear oriented products are not suitable for use for purposes of effecting the repair and/or servicing of nuclear oriented products. To this end, new apparatus often must be developed specifically for use for purposes of accomplishing the repair and/or servicing of nuclear products, and particularly where such repair and/or servicing must be performed at the nuclear power generation system site.
The fact that a need has in actuality been evidenced for one such new apparatus is known in the prior art. That is, it is known that there has existed in the prior art a need for a new apparatus operative to effect the drilling, boring and tapping in a surface of openings of relatively large size. Moreover, it is known that further requirements of this new apparatus include that it be portable, that it be capable of use in a hostile environment, and that the openings formed thereby be capable of being precisely located in the surface in which they are made. More specifically, one application in particular which is known to exist for this new apparatus is the drilling, boring and tapping of new stud holes in the flange of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel which has already been placed in use as one of the operating components of an existing nuclear power generation system.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus that is operative for performing selected machining operations.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus wherein the selected machining operations performed therewith consists of drilling, boring and tapping operations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus for performing drilling, boring and tapping operations wherein such operations are conducted in a hostile environment.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus for performing drilling, boring and tapping operations in a hostile environment wherein a characteristic of the apparatus is that it is portable.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus for performing drilling, boring and tapping operations in a hostile environment wherein a characteristic of the apparatus is that the boring means and the tapping means are combined in one apparatus.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus for performing drilling, boring and tapping operations in a hostile environment wherein a characteristic of the apparatus is that the openings formed thereby are capable of being precisely located relative to the surface in which they are made.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus for performing drilling, boring and tapping operations in a hostile environment wherein the apparatus is characterized in that it is relatively inexpensive to provide, is easy to employ, yet is capable of providing reliable operation.